Massachusetts has recently enacted its own pay transparency statute. These statutes vary from state to state, but they generally require that employers disclose the actual salary or salary range that the applicant or internal...more
Massachusetts is expected to enact its own pay transparency statute any day now. These statutes vary from state to state, but they generally require that employers disclose the actual salary or salary range that the applicant...more
A California staffing agency has recently settled a case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the employment authorization documents that its predecessor company reviewed before hiring. According to the DOJ,...more
The White House and U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced two new immigration initiatives. One provides a way for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and their children to obtain permanent resident status...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed a new rule for the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee for H-1B and L-1 Visa Petitions. Under the proposal, the fee requirement would be expanded to nearly all covered...more
Data from the Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B registration process has recently been released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The data show that changes intended to reduce the number of multiple registrations for the...more
Long processing times for renewal Employment Authorization Documents has resulted in the loss of work authorization for many individuals because their EAD cards expired before new cards could be issued. Individuals who filed...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for many years has used an online system for the annual March lottery for petitions that are subject to the H-1B Cap. The USCIS has now expanded this system to allow the following...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a new fee rule that imposes significant increases, particularly for employment-based petitions. The rule, and the higher fees, will apply to any benefit request...more
The annual H-1B cap season has begun for Fiscal Year 2025. Once again, there will be a two-step process – the registration step and then, if the registration is selected in the H-1B cap lottery, the petition step. Now is the...more
1/17/2024
/ Beneficiaries ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
NAFTA ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On December 21, the U.S. Department of State announced that for 2024 it would continue to waive the requirement of consular interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa applications. However, the 2024 waiver requirements are...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that fees will increase for all requests for Premium Processing. The increases will apply to all requests for premium processing that are postmarked on or after...more
On December 21, the U.S. Department of State issued regulations with details of its pilot program for issuance of renewed H-1B visa stamps in the United States. The pilot program eliminates the need for applicants to obtain...more
Apple Inc. has agreed to pay $25 million to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section, to settle claims that it discriminated against U.S. workers in recruiting and hiring...more
A federal judge has struck down final regulations regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and the program itself may not survive.
The DACA program was established unilaterally in 2012 by an Obama...more
A variety of U.S. work visas require employers to pay a certain salary to foreign workers whom they employ in the United States. But one employer was recently surprised by an appeals court ruling that it was required to...more
Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published its new I-9 regulations, which will take effect next Tuesday, August 1. The regulations have two components: (1) a remote I-9 document examination procedure, and (2)...more
Employers are reportedly urging the Biden Administration to delay the current August 30 deadline for in person re-inspections of I-9 documents that were submitted virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic....more
The filing of an H-1B petition requires submission of a Labor Condition Application certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. The LCA certifies, among other things, that the H-1B beneficiary will be paid the prevailing wage...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued helpful guidance (available here and here) on how to apply for employment authorization documents based on compelling circumstances.
When a foreign national applies...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will now offer premium processing for individuals seeking to change their status to an F-1 or M-1 vocational student, or J-1 Exchange visitor, as well as their dependents....more
One of the most dreaded things a foreign worker can hear while applying for a U.S. visa abroad is that the case has gone to “administrative processing.” That news typically meant that the applicant had to wait weeks, if not...more
As expected, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced last week that the COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, which allowed for virtual inspections, will not be extended and will end on July 31. ...more
On Friday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that there was a dramatic increase in multiple H-1B registrations for single individuals for Fiscal Year 2024.
The agency announced that it has...more
International travelers have long relied on receiving passport stamps when entering a country to document their entry. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is seeking to streamline its entry process and do away with...more